Foremark in Derbyshire was farm land in Jockey Hill’s day. It was flooded in the 1970s becoming a reservoir supplying the people of Leicester. At first sight it appears that one beauty spot has been replaced with another. I’ve never been here before and yet it’s within 10 miles of home.
The scenery is stunning and I find an oak tree growing between rocks in the water. I’d like to think it will survive but trees are thirsty too so there’s a conflict of interest. Water snails had taken up residence on beer bottles someone had placed upright in the water. Taking the photo reminded me of a recent exhibition by fellow Socket member Tracey Kershaw. In ‘Talking about Mothers’, she had photographed plastic milk bottles full of water in a garden setting. Along the water’s edge there were lager cans, soft drink bottles, discarded clothes and a lilo near the no bathing and no inflatables sign!
The weekend’s good weather and its inevitable barbecues had left its mark on the landscape and inland beach. There’s nothing here I can replicate from the original painting of Foremark so I settle for the scene in front of me.
